From the Pulpit: Bold new worlds!
When I was 15, my parents planned a vacation of traveling across country. We began from our home in Washington state and drove Highway 1 across Canada, ending up at my father’s family farm in North Leads, Maine at Uncle Mack’s house. I remember Uncle Mack well; he was about 5-foot-2 and my aunt was about 5-10. My memories are scattered about the trip, but I do remember how I wanted to explore bold new worlds … .as they said on the “new” TV show – Star Trek!
In the book of Numbers, Chapter 13, the nation of Israel was exploring bold new worlds as they had recently crossed the Red Sea. God had delivered them from being captives of the Egyptians after 400 years. The Lord wanted to bring His people back to the Promised Land.
Numbers 13:1-3(NLT) The LORD now said to Moses, “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan… Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” So Moses did as the LORD commanded him…
Within the list of the 12 chosen, there are two men to note – Caleb and Joshua. The other 10 will be a sad example of a lack of faith! Moses gave the men specific directions on where to go and what to look for.
Numbers 13:25(NLT) After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned …
The 12 spies were gone for 40 days and shared their report to the people of Israel.
Numbers 13:27-28(NLT) …“We entered the land you sent us to explore… it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey… But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there…
Ten of the 12 spies saw the good things about the land, but their focus was on their enemies! The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, saw the enemies, too, but their focus was on the power of God. They encouraged the people to look at what God had done and would do.
The people listened and decided to go with the negative report of the 10 spies. Caleb and Joshua challenged the negative report of the 10 in view of the miracles God had done over recent months!
Numbers 13:30-32(NLT) But Caleb tried to quiet the people… “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites…
Interesting how negative comments can be so powerful. Sadly, we as a people can so easily gravitate to the negative and often forget about the power of God. Both Caleb and Joshua focused on what God had done and what He promised to do. Israel made a sad choice that day. Which of the reports would you have gone with?
We learn a lot about God in this passage. God is gracious, God seeks to care for His people. We also see how God worked with Moses. People sometimes decide against God’s way and his principles and then wonder why they feel defeated. May we be people who look to trust God more every day.
